


I Can't Be Sick

by Auroras5tar



Series: Ateez Comfort/Sickfics [3]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Attempted Wooyoung-centric, Choi San is Whipped, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Headaches & Migraines, M/M, POV Alternating, POV Alternating Tho, Protective Choi San, Sickfic, Vomiting, Wooyoung is in Denial, Worried Choi San and Park Seonghwa, platonic or romantic relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:27:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22763956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auroras5tar/pseuds/Auroras5tar
Summary: Wooyoung woke up with a small headache, but he was sure that he wasn't sick. He couldn't let Atiny down.  He couldn't be sick.
Relationships: Choi San/Jung Wooyoung
Series: Ateez Comfort/Sickfics [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1636675
Comments: 15
Kudos: 209





	I Can't Be Sick

**Author's Note:**

> I've seen a lack of sickfics in the fandom, and whatever sickfics are posted, they're normally Yunho or Seonghwa-centric, so hope you enjoy this. Comments and kudos encourages me to write more.
> 
> If you have anything you want to see, I can take requests through twt, curiouscat, or comments.

When Wooyoung woke up, he refused to believe that the dull ache he felt in his head was anything to worry about. He got out of bed and got ready for the schedules. He rushed around, having overslept when he wanted to get up since he needed to eat a healthy breakfast for his diet, but in the end, he had to skip breakfast and settle for an apple as they drove to the first performance.

He knew he had to act normal no matter if the dull headache quickly ramped up to a pounding headache due to all the noise he, San, and Yunho were making like normal. Wooyoung got a break when he was called for hair and makeup, and when he sat down, the stylist frowned as she stared at his slightly pale face.

“Wooyoung-ssi, are you feeling ok?”

“Yeah. Just a small headache. I’m fine.”

“Do you want some headache medicine? I have some in my bag.”

“Please… And can you please keep it discreet? I don’t want anyone to worry.”

The stylist nodded and stealthily grabbed the medicine as she made conversation with him and acted like she was digging in her purse for something else. When she walked back over, she slid the medicine into his hand. He waited a little while as she started styling his hair. About halfway through, he fake yawned and dry swallowed the pills before laughing at something the stylist said like he normally would even if he really didn’t want to. 

After he finished laughing, he took a casual sip of his water before putting it back on the counter. Someone called his name, and he looked into the mirror to see San standing there. Go figure. The other male seemed to be slightly concerned, but he was hiding it pretty well. The only reason Wooyoung knew he was concerned was because they hung out so much, and he knew San’s tells even if he tried to hide it from him.

“How you doing, Woo? Everything ok here?”

Wooyoung smiled at San through the mirror, not wanting to annoy the stylist by moving his head. Though, he did notice the pointed look he received from the woman as she moved to start on his makeup.

“Yeah. I’m fine, Sannie. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I-I don’t know. I just have a bad feeling, and you look a little paler than normal.”

“I’m fine, Sannie. I promise. Ok?”

San hesitated before nodding and moving away. Wooyoung knew he would have to be careful from now on because he knew San would be watching him like an eagle. He watched San walk off and sit with Mingi, catching San looking back at him worriedly… Just to see Wooyoung watching him, so San quickly looked at what Mingi was playing and made some remark that Wooyoung couldn’t hear.

Once Wooyoung was freed from the styling chair, he sat down on the couch and played some music through his airpods as everything calmed down so that he could get some extra sleep. He normally would lean against his arm that would be propped up against the side of the couch, but he just let his head dangle instead, sleep finding him quickly.

He was brought back aware by a hand on his shoulder, shaking him a little more than gently, before he felt one of his pods get removed. Wooyoung let out a hum as he tilted his head back and opened his eyes. In front of him stood Seonghwa, everyone else getting last minute touches and mics attached to them. He paused his music and took his other airpod out before placing both of them into the case and standing to let the mic get attached to him for the performance.

The performance left him worse for wear, limbs heavy now with the world tilting occasionally, and he couldn’t deny the soreness he felt creeping up in his throat. Wooyoung let everyone go first, grabbing a bottle of water from somewhere and drinking it quickly. He hoped he was just dehydrated and needed some water in him as well as maybe some rest.

A hand on his shoulder made him jump and almost spill the water he was drinking. He turned around as fast as he could handle with wide eyes, only to see San standing there again. The worry was now more palpable as San put his hand on the side of Wooyoung’s neck and used the other hand to turn his face occasionally. The vocalist was looking for something, worry taking over any other emotion in his eyes as he seemingly evaluated Wooyoung.

There. A pretty quick movement made the world spin uncomfortably, and he grabbed at San to keep himself grounded. San frowned even more and brought both hands to cradle Wooyoung’s face, making their faces close to each other. It was obvious San knew something was up with Wooyoung, but he wasn’t going to pry.

“I knew there was something wrong. You didn’t have to lie to me. I won’t tell anyone, but if it gets worse, you better tell me… Or I won’t let you have so much skinship with me in the next fansign. I’m worried about you, Woo…”

“ ‘m sorry. I’ll be fine. I’ll be better.”

San’s eyebrows furrowed as he listened to Wooyoung speak. It was no secret that San was self-conscious about himself but hearing Wooyoung say nearly the same thing as him was not a common occurrence.

“Come on. Lets get back to the waiting room. You can rest against me in the car. Ok? Sleep. I don’t care. Ok?”

San’s voice was gentle, much like the tone the members used for San when he was in one of his ruts of low self esteem, and Wooyoung wanted to hate it, but he wasn’t himself right at the moment. Instead, he just nodded and let San tug him to the waiting room and quickly the two got ready to leave for the fansign.

True to what he agreed to, as soon as they were settled in the van, Wooyoung laid his head on San’s shoulder and fell asleep. His airpods were emitting soft music that was loud enough to drown out any loud sounds in the car. San bit his lip and ran a hand through Wooyoung’s hair, eyebrows furrowing as he felt the heat rising off Wooyoung’s skin. 

He quickly set his face back to normal and kept running his hand through Wooyoung’s hair to not look suspicious, but as he looked up, he caught Seonghwa’s eyes in the rearview mirror. San’s face fell, knowing Seonghwa had caught on that something was wrong by the gleam of worry in his eyes as he stared at the two of them before San looked away and leaned his head on Wooyoung’s.

San woke up the sleeping male, noting how raspy Wooyoung’s breathing had gotten while he was asleep. Said male opened his eyes with difficulty and sat up, gently rubbing at the sleep in his eyes without messing up his makeup. San smiled at Wooyoung, who honestly looked like crap, but at least he could temporarily say it was because he just woke up.

The two got out of the van, and San noted how Seonghwa still lingered behind as everyone else started heading inside. He saw the worried glance of Seonghwa get thrown in their direction, so San jabbed Wooyoung’s side with a giggle, acting as if the other had said something. Wooyoung flinched and grunted, looking at San before he noticed the subtle indicator that they were being watched, and he laughed along despite it killing his head.

Wooyoung and San bounced into the venue with Seonghwa trailing behind them, still seemingly suspicious of the two. As soon as they were inside, they were ushered to get ready, so San and Wooyoung were separated but so was Seonghwa from them. That didn’t stop Wooyoung from feeling the worried stares from both of them as they got ready as he ignored the nausea in his stomach when food was delivered to them.

He ate what he could and then let the others take what they wanted by leaving it abandoned, half-finished. He could feel the food not settle properly in his stomach, but he pushed the feeling aside as he sipped his water. The water helped a little bit as he felt the food settle enough that he didn’t feel like any movement would send him running for a trash can. He indulged Yeosang in conversation, once again ignoring his pounding headache.

They were called out to the fansign, and Wooyoung pushed the sickness away. Seeing Atiny actually helped him forget how bad he was feeling until the ending ment when they were all standing in a line. Wooyoung clung to San, nuzzling into his neck. It was nothing uncommon, but Wooyoung was discreetly leaning heavily on San, making the vocalist stiffen. He turned his head towards Wooyoung and spoke quietly.

“Wooyoungie, are you ok?”

“No. It’s worse. Way worse, Sannie. I don’t-I don’t know how much longer I can stay out here.”

“Just a little longer. Ok, Woo?”

Wooyoung nodded, and San patted Wooyoung’s hair before gently pushing him away when they did their chant, signifying they were done. Normally, they would milk out staying on stage, but Wooyoung slipped off quickly and rushed to the nearest bathroom. He knew San followed him after him almost immediately, and as he crashed to his knees in front of a toilet just to vomit almost immediately, he felt a hand in his hair that brushed back his bangs and held them away from his face as another hand rubbed his back.

After a few minutes of emptying his stomach and eventually just throwing up bile and water, Wooyoung leaned back against what felt like San’s legs. Wooyoung was trembling as he let his eyes slide close while San flushed the toilet before picking him up and helping him to the sink. San helped Wooyoung rinse his mouth out, and the dancer regained enough strength to at least help San get him back to the dressing room.

Wooyoung kept a hand on the wall and around San as they stumbled through the hall, his sickness finally rearing its ugly head and impacting Wooyoung full force. He was sweating and shaking from a mix of being cold, overexertion, and now dehydration, clearly showing symptoms of a fever. 

Once they got- more like crashed- into the waiting room, Jongho and Mingi jumped at the noise as they took in the scene. They were the only ones in the room. San shifted Wooyoung’s arm on his shoulders as he rushed forward and laid Wooyoung down on the cool floor. He ran and grabbed a water bottle and crashed to his knees next to Wooyoung’s head, picking it up to lean on his legs at an angle that would be easy to drink water from.

“Jongho, go get the others. Please. Quickly. Mingi, can you go wet some towels? He’s got a fever. Stupid idiot should’ve rested today as soon as he realized he was sick. Now look at him.”

San picked up the water bottle before realizing it would get the clothes wet, and he put the bottle aside as he moved to gently set Wooyoung’s head on the ground before pushing him to sit up. He started to take the jacket Wooyoung was wearing off as well as the necklaces before working his shirt off. Then he slid back a little bit and let Wooyoung lean against his chest as he opened the water bottle and tipped it towards the dancer’s mouth. A whine was heard through the room as San looked up, realizing neither male had moved, and his eyes hardened to appear much like they did on stage.

“Sometime today, please.”

His voice was full of authority and had dropped in pitch. The tone seemed to wake the two up, and they scurried into action. San then turned his attention back onto Wooyoung, and his voice turned sweet and soft again.

“Wooyoungie, you need to drink something. Ok? You have to be dehydrated after throwing up. We don’t need you passing out on top of all this. Please drink?”

Wooyoung didn’t verbally answer. He just let his mouth open enough for him to swallow the water San slowly poured into his mouth. By the time Mingi came back, Wooyoung had drank half the water and was laying back down with his head in San’s lap. San grabbed the towel Mingi held out to him, and placed it on Wooyoung’s forehead.

“Mingi, can you get me a makeup wipe, take off Wooyoung’s shoes, and get me his change of clothes please? I feel like we should get him into something more comfortable.”

Mingi nodded and instantly jumped into action. He passed San a makeup wipe before getting started on untying Wooyoung’s shoes as San wiped away the makeup on Wooyoung’s sweaty face. He then placed the wipe to the side once he was done and fully wiped Wooyoung’s face, humming softly in hopes to help everyone stay calm even as the dancer coughed on occasion.

Getting Wooyoung into comfortable clothes took some maneuvering, but they eventually succeeded. It took a few more minutes of calm and wiping Wooyoung’s face, keeping his forehead cool in hopes to help keep Wooyoung cool, before the three heard running footsteps and then the door was thrown open. Wooyoung let out a whimper and shifted slightly at the loud noise as San and Mingi snapped their heads over to the door to look at what caused the noise.

“If you want to stay, you have to be quiet. And no incessant questions. Ok?”

San’s voice and look were quite hard, protectiveness curling through his veins as his hands stayed gentle, rubbing against Wooyoung’s temples. Hongjoong, who had been the one to throw open the door, looked guilty yet incredulous at San. Meanwhile, Seonghwa rushed forward and knelt next to the two. 

The towel was removed, and Seonghwa felt Wooyoung’s forehead. Even with the cool towel resting on his forehead, Wooyoung was still sweltering hot. Seonghwa put the towel back and looked at San, the two seeming to have a conversation through eyesight alone. Then the manager made his way over, and San instantly started talking.

“I don’t know how long he’s been feeling sick, but I figured it out at the show performance that he at least had a headache or migraine. Then we got into the car and his breathing got raspy, so he must have a sore throat, and his fever spiked. I knew he didn’t want to get benched, so I said I wouldn’t tell, but he had to tell me when it got to be too much. He didn’t tell me until right before we ended, and by then I could tell that it was way worse than earlier. I guess seeing Atiny really does make us forget our troubles. He threw up everything right after the fansign ended, but I made him drink water when we got here.”

San stopped suddenly and looked up with glassy eyes.

“I should’ve said something when I first found out. Then it wouldn’t be this bad. I’m sorry, hyungs. I thought- I thought-”

“Shh, Sannie. Shh. You did good. Look how calm Wooyoung is right now. He’s not in discomfort. He looks comfortable. You’re ok, San.”

He heard Seonghwa's calming voice croon from near him as he felt arms being wrapped around him and tugged into a smaller chest for comfort. Hongjoong, he believed. San let it happen as he let his hands fall from Wooyoung’s head, and he ducked his head down, feeling a hand run through his hair and massage the scalp lightly. The panic of seeing Wooyoung in such a state now being allowed to crash over him, and Hongjoong tried to pull him away from Wooyoung except the dancer reached up and grabbed San’s slightly shaky one. He didn’t want San to leave, which didn’t help the vocalist’s panic.

After a few moments of silence and eye conversation between Seonghwa and Hongjoong, they seemed to understand that Wooyoung didn't want to be alone but San couldn't stay as Hongjoong kept tugging San away while Seonghwa took his place, sliding San’s hand out of Wooyoung’s and holding it himself instead. San allowed himself to be tugged out of the room, past the rest of the members who were staring in shock between him and Wooyoung. 

Seonghwa and the manager looked over Wooyoung before deciding to still bring him to the hospital to get checked. The two of them managed to get Wooyoung up before helping him to the car, Seonghwa climbing into the backseat with the dancer to keep an eye on him. Wooyoung let out soft groans whenever he was jostled too much, and Seonghwa kept his arms around Wooyoung in order to try to keep him calm.

While Wooyoung was getting checked over and given medicine and doctor’s order to rest for a couple days, San was placed in Hongjoong’s lap in a nearby room as the vocalist was calmed down by Hongjoong’s gentle statements and rubs on his back and to his hair. It would have been amusing to see San curl up into the smaller man’s chest if the circumstances were different. Soon, San was calm and just leaning against the leader for a while before Hongjoong tapped his back.

“Come on, Sannie. We need to get out of here and change. Wooyoung should be waiting for us at the dorm soon if he isn’t already.”

San stood up and helped Hongjoong before they shuffled into the waiting room. They got changed and then hurried into the vans. They had to squeeze together to fit since the other van was gone, but they made it work. The members seemed to have come to an agreement to keep San occupied and away from his thoughts up until they arrived.

They all rushed into the dorm, but no one moved as fast as San. He rushed to take his shoes off and rushed into the living room, glancing around wildly. Seonghwa noticed and walked up to him and placed his hands on San’s shoulders, gently massaging lightly.

“Calm down, San. It was just a severe cold that got worse due to him working so hard. He’s got medicine and was ordered to rest, which will be easy since we were supposed to have a few days off anyway. He’s asleep in his room if you want to see him. Ok? I’ll keep the others quiet and update them on the situation. Go take a shower and then go to Wooyoung.”

San nodded, taking a deep breath and took a quick shower before slipping into Wooyoung’s room. His hair was damp from the shower, but he had his hood on over the dampness as well as sweatpants. He walked over to Wooyoung and kneeled down next to him since he had crawled into Yeosang’s bed instead of climbing into his own. He traced a hand over Wooyoung’s face, frowning at how hot he still was.

San stood up and ducked into the bathroom in between the rest of the members going in and out of the bathroom. He filled a small bucket with cold water and placed a washcloth into it before returning back to Wooyoung. He kneeled next to the bed again before he wrung out the washcloth and folded it to place on Wooyoung’s forehead.

He kept a quiet vigil over Wooyoung for the better part of the night, letting the members come in and out to check on both of them before everyone went to bed. San stayed by Wooyoung’s side to occasionally redampen the washcloth to keep Wooyoung’s fever down, and he slowly felt sleep tug on him. He laid his head down on against his arm on the bed while the other hand laid in his lap, and he fell asleep.

During the night, Wooyoung had woken up to go to the bathroom but froze as he saw San asleep next to his bed. He took the washcloth off his head and placed it into the bucket as he sat up. He slowly got up since he was still dizzy, and he grabbed the blanket off his real bed, noting in the back of his mind that Yeosang must have either bunked with someone else or slept in San’s bed. He tucked the blanket around San, wanting to make sure the vocalist would stay warm through the night, before he went to the bathroom and returned. He wrung out the washcloth again as he tucked himself back into bed and placed the folded washcloth on his forehead.

That’s how they were found in the morning. Wooyoung laying close to San, curling up near him as if to try to keep him warm, and San kneeling and laid against Wooyoung’s bed with a blanket tucked around him. Pictures may or may not have been taken of the scene before San was taken and placed in a real bed and tucked in, hopefully not catching his own cold due to his worry.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/5tarspromise) and [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/5tarspromise)!


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